Bonjour à vous tous J'ai trés vite observé que la notion de travail est pour tout le monde associée au labeur et est connotée trés négativement. Une des raisons est d'aprés moi le fait que peu de gens ont relié le travail avec l'intérêt. Cela me semble bien regrettable car pour ma part l'argent est important mais secondaire. Il doit être un moyen et non une finalité. Pour illuster cela, je peux donner l'exemple d'amis qui m'ont dit ne pas vouloir devenir chercheur à cause des salaires! Cette remarque s'applique à l'ensemble des étudiants du MIT et de l'INT : j'ai donc l'impression d'être minoritaire en pensant cela!

Both the French and American responses to

Work

were very similar. I get the sense that both cultures view it as something that is simply part of life. It can be difficult or unpleasant at times, and easy and enjoyable other times. Is this the way that the French view work, or is there a stronger like or dislike than came across in the word associations?

I agree with the comments above. Both tend to view work the same way, and this tends to be a more negative view. I think that this is due to the fact that both Americans and French enjoy leisure times, and work tends to be long and stressful. I think that everywhere, it is common to hear people having a "long, hard day at work".

It seems like the majority of the words associated with "work" relate it to a job that we do to earn money. When I say "work" i usually mean school work, homework, problemsets, exams etc...that might just be me in denial of ever wanting to go out into the real world !!

zaff

Oh, I have a question for the French students : In English the word "work" could be used in explaining something occuring successfully. Eg : " my toy was broken but I was determined to make it work" . I was wondering if the word "travail" can be used ina similar sense ??

zaff

Going through the list of words associated to "work", I found that many of the French students referred to it as a necessity or something obligatory. On the US side, these associations didn't appear. How strongly do people in France feel about their jobs? Is it something they find great interest in or is it just a way to make a living?

--Lilla

Salut à tous! Vous êtes réveillés là;)?! @Zaffar: On dirait plutôt 'faire marcher, fonctionner quelque chose' pour 'to make something work'. On parle souvent de l'"american dream", des Américains qui travaillent durement pour atteindre leurs rêves, souvent commençant avec pas grand chose. Est-ce que c'est toujours vrai aujourd'hui, ou n'est-ce qu'un cliché? Est-ce que les Américains sont très ambitieux et font tout pour réussir? Et le "self-made man" alors? A bientôt! Maud

Hello, Maud,

The American Dream is an ideal of a happy and successful life. Immigrants came (and still come) to the United States with hopes of achieving something they could not achieve back home. I believe this is where the idea of the

self-made man

comes from. I think it would be safe to say that we have more respect for people who earned their money through hard work than for people who inherited their wealth. Success if very important here, but success may mean different things to different people. For example, some may define success as how much money or power they have. Others may define success as living a healthy and meaningful life (wonderful family, good friends, enjoyable career, etc.).

Gary

Le mot travail ne peut pas être utilisé avec ce sens de réussitte ou de succés. En effet le mot travail vient du latin tripalum qui signifie objet de torture !!!! On comprends vite la connotation négative !

Yoann, That's interesting about the word origin of "travail." I looked up the word origins of "work." Apparently it originates from the classical Greek words ergon, meaning action or work, and organon, meaning tool or instrument. So, "work" has a much more neutral connotation than "travail" does.

Salut Pour ajouter mon grain de sel, je voudrais juste souligner que le travail, d'un point de vue médical, désigne les contactions de l'utérus pendant l'accouchement, donc un mauvais moment à passer pour les femmes! (du point de vue physique, bien sûr). Cela correspond en fait pour les chrétiens à la punition de Dieu qui décida que la femme enfanterait dans la douleur. Donc une raison de plus pour assimiler travail à souffrance. A bientôt, Sophie